i'm andrea mitchell live in new york. five days to go until the first debate both sides are playing the expectations game. what we know is this prime time event is a crucial matchup for two candidates shadow boxing for months. rachel maddow will be angering our debate coverage starting at 8:00 on msnbc, 8:00 eastern and she joins me now to set the stage in our daily fix today. great to have you here. >> thanks. good to be with you. >> with the excitement about the debate one of the things you've been pointing out is, neither side have been talking about afghanistan. >> yeah. >> really the president as well. certainly not mitt romney. we've got people stationed, men and women, stationed in afghanistan and they're not talking about the war. you did a great segment on that last night. >> at least a long segment. 68 -- >> for good reasons. >> 68,000 americans who are really incredibly talented, incredible resources for our country, people in the prime of their lives risking their lives every day right now and in 2004, in that